1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for processing an image based on type and characteristic of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, and a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP), image data that is read from an original by using a reading device, such as a scanner, or for which an output request is issued from an external device is printed out on a printing medium (for example, a sheet of recording paper) by using color material such as ink or toner.
Regarding the above-mentioned operation, various technologies for saving a consumption amount of the color material that is used for image formation have been developed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-321109 discloses a printer that has an ink save mode in which the consumption amount of ink can be saved depending on a type or a size of a printing medium. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-352029 discloses a technology for specifying a type of a printing medium and switching between a normal mode and a saving mode depending on the type of the printing medium. In the normal mode, the consumption amount of color material is not controlled while printing, while, in the saving mode, the consumption amount of color material is saved while printing.
Even when recording papers are of the same paper type, such as a glossy paper, a coated paper, or a plain paper, characteristics of the recording papers (paper characteristics), such as a gloss level, a whiteness level, and a transmittance, may not be the same among the recording papers depending on a manufacturer or the like. However, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-321109, a uniform process for saving the consumption amount of the color material is performed for each paper type, so that printing cannot be performed appropriately considering the characteristics of each of the recording papers. Therefore, more amount of the color material than that is necessary for corresponding image formation may be consumed. Furthermore, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-352029, color material to be used is selected depending on a color of the printing medium. However, in this technology, the paper characteristics of the printing medium are not considered, and therefore, a color indicated by color information of the color material may not be correctly output on the sheet material depending on the printing medium.